Van Leeuwen ice cream shop in New York, from the book “The Desserts of New York.”

Van Leeuwen ice cream shop in New York, from the book “The Desserts of New York.”

Photo: Yasmin Newman, Hardie Grant Books

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Travel books: Delicious “Desserts of New York”

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It’s perfectly reasonable to fear a book about New York City and its desserts — they did, after all, burden the world with the ridiculous, overblown “cronut.” But in “The Desserts of New York” (Hardie Grant Books, 240 pages, $24.99), author Yasmin Newman has managed to create a “recipe-slash-travel journal and guide” that gives a comprehensive view of the city’s sweets, as well as insights into the people, places and cultures where they thrive. Goodies cover the range from traditional — cannoli, babka and a brief history of New York cheesecake — to modern takeoffs, including black sesame cream puffs, S’mores baked Alaska, fig and Marsala glazed scones and “luxe” Oreo cookies. Newman does an impressive job finding, organizing and assessing everything that feeds New York City’s voracious sweet tooth, but as the book’s principal photographer, she captures the restaurants and patrons, as well the everyday life in increasingly hip neighborhoods where new desserts are being born and centuries-old recipes are finding new life. Up front are useful tips and maps to help readers “eat all of them.”

OddFellows Ice Cream Co., Brooklyn: “It may look a like a 1950s soda fountain, yet it’s anything but old-fashioned. Ice creams range from burnt marshmallow (delectable) to red pepper fig, while popsicles are boozy and cones are decked in cotton candy. You can nab my favorite ice-cream sandwich — brioche just warmed in a sandwich press — at the Williamsburg flagship or head to the dedicated East Village Sandwich Shop.”

On cultures: “In New York, Jewish delis, Greek coffee shops, Korean-run grocery stores and Latino bodegas all signal a multicultural city whose rich heritage and minority-majority makeup is proudly woven through daily life, and also its delicious sweets. Pastries, buns, breads and bites best showcase these kaleidoscopic ethnic influences: Italian cannoli, Eastern European rugelach, Chinese milk buns and more. And you can find them in new-age bakeries, mod patisseries and hip restaurants as well as their traditional homes.”

The BoCoCa neighborhood: “An acronym for Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn. It’s three neighborhoods really, all leafy, literary and really lovely. I loved watching the afternoon swarm of children at Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain. Their excitement for sundaes and floats was contagious.”

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Moe’s Doughs Donut Shop: “Following the social media splash of rainbow bagels in early 2016, multicolored just-about-everything started appearing, including rainbow doughnuts at Moe’s Doughs. They don’t look like much from the outside, but take a bite and a swirl of color welcomes you, and the taste, even if it’s just a glazed vanilla cake doughnut, is pretty good too.”